The Kidneys and Salt: Researcher to Study Mechanisms of Hypertension

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has received a two-year, $180,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study how kidney inflammation is related to the development of hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Tengis Pavlov, PhD, assistant professor of physiology, is the primary investigator of the grant.

Nearly a third of American adults have high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is responsible for an estimated 26,000 deaths every year. Many cases of hypertension are exacerbated by the consumption of a high-salt diet.

Blood pressure is controlled via the kidneys, through the regulation of sodium balance. In this project, Dr. Pavlov will study the relationship between the reabsorption of sodium ions in the kidneys and the development of high blood pressure in the cases of patients who show salt sensitivity.

Anticipated results will help to understand how to manage high blood pressure induced by high salt consumption.

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